title: Rhinitis patients with sputum eosinophilia show decreased lung function in the absence of airway hyperresponsiveness.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sputum eosinophilia is observed frequently in patients with rhinitis. Sputum eosinophilia in patients with non-asthmatic allergic rhinitis has been suggested to be related to nonspecific airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). However, the clinical significance of sputum eosinophilia in patients with non-asthmatic rhinitis without AHR has not been determined. We conducted a retrospective study examining the influence of sputum eosinophilia in patients with non-asthmatic rhinitis without AHR on pulmonary function and expression of fibrosis-related mediators.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-nine patients with moderate-to-severe perennial rhinitis without AHR were included. All underwent lung function tests (forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1] and forced vital capacity [FVC]), skin tests to inhalant allergens, methacholine bronchial challenge tests, and hypertonic saline-induced sputum to determine eosinophil counts. Sputum mRNA levels for transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) were also examined. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of sputum eosinophilia (≥3%, eosinophilia-positive [EP] and <3%, eosinophilia-negative [EN] groups).
  
  
  RESULTS
  FEV1 was significantly lower (P=0.04) and FEV1/FVC tended to be lower (P=0.1) in the EP group than in the EN group. In sputum analyses, the MMP-9 mRNA level (P=0.005) and the ratio of MMP-9 to TIMP-1 expression (P=0.01) were significantly higher in the EP group than in the EN group. There was no significant difference in TGF-β mRNA expression between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sputum eosinophilia in patients with moderate-to-severe perennial rhinitis without AHR influenced FEV1 and the expression pattern of fibrosis-related mediators.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal medicine, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. ; Department of Internal medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. ; Institute of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Min-Suk
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Hyun-Seung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Min-Hye
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Woo-Jung
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Tae-Wan
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jae-Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Sae-Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Heung-Woo
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Yoon-Seok
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Sang-Heon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Kyung-Up
authors.initials: KU
authors.lastname: Min
keywords: Sputum; eosinophil; forced expiratory volume; matrix metalloproteinase-9; rhinitis